Honestly
by Creatureofthedark
Summary: takes place after Things Left Unsaid. Lee has a dream. Could it possibly come true? What happens between her and Raph? yep. i'm bad at summaries. oh well. at least the story's better. if not much. *recently edited*
1. Chapter 1

**Ch. 1**

Lee opens her eyes to Raph getting up and leaving the room. She reaches out to his arm. "Please. Don't go. Don't leave me. I need to know you're here." She has tears in her eyes. Her dream scared her. Last time she had a dream, it was telling her something. She didn't want this one to come true. She wasn't letting Raph out of her sight. She was the protective one now.

"Okay. Shhh, it's okay." Raph lays behind her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He tightens his hold as he feels her shake some. "It's okay. I'm here. I won't leave you. I promise."

Lee gets as close as she can to Raph as she closes her eyes. She pushes her head back into the crook of his neck as she lets herself relax. She falls asleep feeling safer and warmer than she ever had before, though this isn't the first time she had him stay with her to ward off nightmares.

She wakes up still in his arms. She moves some and feels his arms instantly give way. He's awake. He sits up and she crawls into his lap. "Don't let go of me."

He wraps his arms around her again. He likes her being this close, but something is wrong. It scares him. What is she scared of? Does she think he'll leave her? "What's wrong Lee?"

"Nothing." She buries her head into his chest.

"Lee, you can tell me anything. You _do_ know that, don't you?" He lifts her head to his and meets her eyes. "I hate seeing you scared. What's wrong?"

Lee pulls his hands from her face and holds them in her own. "I had a dream."

Raph waits. He doesn't push her. He wants her to trust him.

"It was about you." Lee looks down. She doesn't want to tell him, but she wants to get it out. She wants him to tell her that everything was going to be okay.

"I'm listening," he says in his most soothing voice.

"I don't know what happened. I just know that… that you were dying." She starts to cry. "I couldn't call out to you. I couldn't get to you. I wanted to tell you something. Something I should have told you sooner."

"What was that?" he asks softly. He strokes her cheek.

She looks up to him. Her eyes meet his. "I love you. I love you so much. I shouldn't have lied to you earlier. I… I just had to."

Raph doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know what to think. The love of his life just told him that she loved him. Was this truly happening? "You love me?"

Lee takes in all of his expression. "You have every right not to want me. You have every right to leave me right now. I'm sorry I lied to you earlier. I didn't want you to follow me. But… the truth is… I do love you. More than you'll ever know." Lee puts her head down. "You have every right to be mad at me."

Raph is shocked. Mad at her? "Lee…" He doesn't know what to say.

"I know. Go ahead. You can leave." She starts to get out of his lap. A hand grabs her opposite shoulder, forcing her to turn to him.

"Lee… don't _ever_ think I'm going to leave you."

She looks up at him.

"Why would I be mad atcha? Why wouldn't I want you? Why would I leave you?" He looks into Lee's eyes. He holds her head in his hands when she tries to turn it from him. "Look at me." He catches her eyes. "Have you ever thought that I loved you so much that I wouldn't letchya go? Do you think I would hurtchya in any way on purpose? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Lee looks down. "I'm sorry."

"No."

She cringes. Waiting for the rejection she's sure to get.

"I will _always_ love you."

Lee doesn't know what to say. She just stares at him in shock. _How is he not mad at me?_ She comes to a conclusion. "I don't deserve you," she mumbles.

"No. It's _me_ that doesn't deserve _you_."

She leans into Raph as she starts to cry. "You are _so_ confused."

He smiles. "Whatever you say love." He holds her close as she cries.

"You have no idea how good that sounds."

"What? Calling you love?" He kisses her forehead.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to be called that."

He pulls back some. "By anyone?"

Lee scoots closer. "No. Just you. It's always been you."

"I love you," he murmurs.

Her heart jumps. And she answers with the sentence she's always wanted to say to him. "I love you too," she answers.

They sit their for a while, reveling in each others company. Then Raph smiles down at her. "How 'bout some breakfast?" He looks at her clock. "The others should be up soon."

Lee holds on to one of his arms. "I don't want to let you go yet."

He lifts her up into his arms. "How 'bout I carry ya then?"

"Wonderful." She relaxes as he carries her to the kitchen and lowers her feet gracefully to the floor.

"What should we make?" Raph asks as he looks through the cupboards.

"How about French toast?" Lee asks holding eggs in one hand and bread in the other closing the fridge door with her foot.

"Sounds good." He smiles as he gets the pan out for her. He puts it on the stove and goes over to her. He wraps his arms around her waist and puts his chin on her head as she makes the egg batter for the toast.

"Don't act differently around the guys Raph," Lee says as she leans back against his chest.

"Why?"

"I'm not ready for them to know yet. I… don't know how they'll react."

"They won't care Lee."

"Just a little while."

He kisses her neck. "I can try, but they'll figure it out eventually," he answers. "But if ya want me ta act normal…" he trails off as he lets go and starts to walk away.

"No! Don't leave."

He laughs and walks back. He helps Lee as everyone wakes up at their own time. He tries to ignore all of the hugs she gets and how happy she looks as everyone says hi to her. It's not easy for him. He's the jealous type. But he knows it's not right. She needs her space. But after knowing she's actually his…

Lee can see the look he tries to hide and brushes her arm against his every time she gets the chance. He gives her an understanding grin every time.

They all eat breakfast and go do their own thing after talking for a while. Donnie goes to his room to work on some electronic thing, Leo goes to meditate, Mikey to do… whatever he fells like doing, and Raph and Lee go to train.

"Let's see whatcha got," Raph says twirling his sais as Lee gets ready.

She smirks at him. "You've seen what I've got. Let's see if you can beat it."

Raph smiles lovingly. "That's my girl."

Lee grins as they begin to fight. "You were jealous earlier. You don't have doubts about me being your girl do you?"

They twist and turn around each other as Raph answers. "No. I… I'm just a jealous person." They lock blades and he looks between them. "Do ya want me to try to be less possessive? Am I bugging you?"

They turn, kick, push, and lock blades again. Lee smiles. "I think it's pretty cute." She pushes him back. "But you have no reason to be jealous." She smiles. "I promise. You are my one and only."

They come back toward each other. Raph traps Lee's sword in his sais. His heart swells. Her one and only. "That's… wow that's great." He pushes some. "We've made a lot of promises today."

"And I intend on keeping all of them," Lee replies matter-of-factly.

"I hope so."

Lee flicks her sword and Raph's sais are flying through the air. They land with a clang. Lee points her sword at Raph's throat. He is shocked. Where did she learn that? How did that just happen? Was he distracted by her or was she just that good? "Wow."

"You're lucky I love you." She tosses her sword down.

They walk toward each other. Raph suddenly has Lee in his arms and is spinning her around. Lee laughs as he throws her in the air, catches her, and swings her to a stop setting her back on her feet.

Lee immediately stands on her toes to reach up to Raph. He leans down to meet her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. They share their first real kiss. He's brushing her hair from her face as he kisses her. He pulls away some to look at her. "You are so beautiful."

Lee blushes a little and Raph laughs. "You're cute when you're embarrassed." He lowers his forehead to hers.

Lee looks into his eyes, captivated by his gaze. "Your eyes are beautiful."

He intensifies his stare smiling some. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Lee whispers. She is left breathless. She's never seen that look before. She loves it. She's pulled into another kiss.

"Yours aren't too bad either," Raph says after looking into her eyes. "Very strong icy blue." His look becomes thoughtful. "I could swear they weren't this color all the time. I don't remember them ever being this blue. Maybe some, but not this much."

Lee laughs. "No, it changes."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They're dark when I'm sick, sad, or hurt, gray on a normal day, and blue…" she trails off, her face blushing a little again.

Raph kisses her again. "Go ahead."

Lee wraps her arms around his neck. "They're blue when I'm in love."

He smiles down at her. "They're really blue right now."

"I wonder why." She gives him one last kiss before slipping out of his grasp and picking up their weapons. She hands his sais back to him and takes the hand he offers.

"You do know that one katana isn't right?" Raph asks feigning seriousness.

"Yeah. I just don't have my own sword yet," Lee answers defensively.

"Maybe I'll have to get you one."

Lee looks up at him and grins. "The sais work just fine for me."

"Yeah, but those are mine. You need your own," he replies pretending to be possessive again. Over his weapons this time. He looks down to her. "Besides, you need your own signature weapon," he replies liking the idea.

They both laugh as they leave the room. Raph puts his arm around her shoulders letting go of her hand as they leave, trying to act normal. _Things will never be normal again_ he thinks to himself. _This is one change though, that I will like._


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2**

She sits up expectantly as her door opens, letting a small ray of light shine on her bed. She smiles and meets his lips as he takes his place behind her. She sighs and closes her eyes as she feels his arms tighten around her, his breath on her neck, and the warmth of him being so close. "I love you."

"I love you too," is his reply.

She goes to sleep close to him. His arms around her and her head under his chin.

She is asleep as soon as Raph's breathing becomes steady. She begins to dream.

She is watching her love walk across a rooftop. It wasn't their rooftop. It was different. He stops with his head down. _What's wrong? He looks… upset? Why? _It's dark but she sees something in the shadows. The glint of a sword.

Trying to call out to him she yells. No sound comes out. He sees the figure. He heads toward it. She tries to stop him when more figures appear. They start to fight. He is struck down again and again. He is stabbed in the shoulder. He cries out in pain.

***

Lee jerks to an upright position breathing hard. She looks around. She's alone. _Why am I alone? Where is he?_ She looks at the clock. It was too early for him to usually get up. _Where is he?_ she asks herself again. She pulls up her knees and wraps her arms around them as her eyes start to water. She tries to convince herself that he's okay, wherever he is.

The dream was so real. _What if it really happened? What if that's why he wasn't here right now? What should I do? I don't know what rooftop he was on. What if I'm already too late?_ All of these thoughts run through her mind as she tries to decide what to do. Just then, the door opens. She jumps some, startled.

"Lee? Lee are you okay?" Raph runs to her side. Seeing how her eyes were teary and how she jumped when he came in unnerved him. She was never like that.

She is in his arms in a second, holding onto him in desperation. He's here. He's okay. She tries to calm down. She starts to cry in relief. "Why did you leave?"

Raph holds her tight when he feels her shoulders shake. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he whispers against her neck. "I took longer than I thought I would."

Lee nods and calms herself as she feels his breath on her and hears his voice. It was laying her head against him, hearing his heartbeat that calmed her enough to talk. "It's okay. I just… had that dream again. Only it was more… graphic." She winces at the word.

Raph pulls her into his lap as he wraps his arms around her protectively. "Oh Lee. It's okay." He kisses her head. "I'm okay. It was just a dream. You don't have to be afraid for me all the time. It's just a stupid dream."

She shakes her head. "The last time I had a dream, it was true. I won't let this one become real."

Another dream? Raph is confused. "What other dream?"

"I had a dream of the fight with that gang. I saw what I couldn't see when I was there. I heard the new leader say he was going to come after me." She looks at Raph. "You know it came true."

He couldn't argue with that. Then he knows what to say. "Your mind is just expressing your worst fear. Losing someone you love." Raph could actually see the change in Lee's eyes. From really dark gray, to regular gray. Hmm. Maybe he was getting somewhere. "It's okay."

She tips her head up more to meet his lips, his head already looking down. She puts her hand to his face, pressing the kiss deeper. She really needed this. She isn't the one who pulls back. Her breath catches at the look he gives her. The look he gave her a few days ago. The look she loved the most. His eyes are a darker shade of amber, but seem to shine brighter at the same time.

He looks into her eyes. Blue now, from the connection she felt with him. He gives her the look he has given her only once before. A few days ago. He knew it would calm her. Either that or make her faint. He grins at that thought. He almost laughs. "I've never realized how yer eyes changed. That's kinda sad."

Lee smiles, knowing what he meant. "It's okay. They were already always blue around you anyway. Just not as blue."

"Yeah. That's what it was." He jerks some. "Wait. This means that you've always…"

"Yep." She lays against him.

He rests his head on hers. "And it took me so long to figure it out."

Lee laughs some. "And how long have you liked me?"

Raph leans back some. Lee sees him blush. This was going to be good. _He doesn't blush much, and I've gotten him to do it a few times just yesterday and today_ she thinks to herself.

He looks down at her. "This is gonna sound really weird. But… I've never believed in love at first sight. When I saw you though, fighting those guys off before they took out the knives, I couldn't help but think how beautiful you were. Just… everything about you. The way you twisted in the air, your determination, and…" he blushes again. "The way your body was able to weave between those guys."

Lee laughs and presses closer. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I like hearing that from you." She smiles up at him. "That just makes me feel better about myself."

He grins some. "Yeah. I've noticed that you've been having some problems with self esteem." He lays down, pulling her with him.

Lee makes herself comfortable laying on him. She rests her chin on her arms as she smiles down at him. "Nah. I just don't think I'm worth all of what you think I'm worth."

Raph's face becomes hard. He rolls both of them to the side and puts his face right up to hers. He grips her shoulders. "You are worth everything." The sound of his voice and the look in his eyes would have been enough to stop even Leo from replying. "Do you hear me? Everything." He pulls her close and hugs her.

Lee is shocked at this. He is never this rough with her. She doesn't try to push away even long after he locked her in his arms. She knows he would have let her go, but she doesn't want him to until he's ready. She just lays still. She notices the slightly fast pace of his breathing. After a while Lee asks, "Raph? What's wrong?"

He sighs. He doesn't let go yet. He loves her for her patience. He knows he probably scared her at how tense he was. He loosens up after a few seconds, just enough so that Lee could scoot back some and see his face. "Nothin'."

Lee glares at him. Ouch. That hurts. "Don't you _dare _say nothing. I know when something's wrong, just as you know when it comes to me. What's wrong?"

Raph is somewhat surprised at Lee's reaction, but he knows he's acting different. He sighs again. "You are worth everything to me. You _are_ everything to me. I don't know what I'd do if you left again."

Their faces are only a hair's width apart. Lee can feel Raph's breath on her face. "I won't leave again. Never again."

"I know," he whispers. "It's just the thought that you don't think you're worth everything I've given for you."

Lee smiles. She knows exactly what he's saying. He's given her his faith, his protection, very nearly his life, his love, and so much more. "When you put it that way, I guess I'm worth a lot. A whole lot if you put what you've given me in money standards."

He sighs yet again. "Not as much as you deserve."

Lee's face falls. "Raph. Don't do this." She closes the small gap between them and kisses him. "You and I both know, if you can give it to me, you will. That's all that matters." She kisses him again.

"Yeah. Okay."

They lay there for the last few hours before getting up and going to have breakfast with the others. Lee notices the look Leo tries to hide from her when they walk into the kitchen. _What was that about?_

She acts like everything's normal as she eats. She wants to talk to him later. Though later, they all went out on lookout. Well, that was a lot later. Before then, Lee couldn't get him alone. Either way, it was later, and she still hadn't been able to get to him. Well, she was with Raph. That was all good.

There was nothing better to calm her nerves than her one and only walking with her. Even if it was because that was their job. Patrolling isn't really a stroll in the park. She knows that he would do it anyway if she asked. She knows he would do anything that he had power to do for her. That's what makes Lee's heart beat faster without a doubt. She knows that Raph would do anything for her. That's what scares her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

She holds Raph's hand as they walk across a roof. Leo had paired them up knowing that Raph would have complained if it were otherwise. Also because Raph was the strongest and could help Lee better if something went wrong. He had paired up Mikey and Don, and had gone as just himself. Poor Leo.

Lee thinks about this as she looks and listens. "Don't you feel bad for having Leo go on his own?" Ever since the fight that almost killed Leo, Lee had gotten closer to him. She was always thinking about him, even though she hid it.

Raph hides the confused look that threatens to come out. "Why? He's just fine on his own. He used to split us up to go alone, but we never were out of hearing distance. We didn't cover enough ground that way. We decided to go in pairs just to actually do some good."

"I know, but I just think it's quite a sacrifice to be alone when you know that your other friends have someone with them to talk to. It makes you feel lonely even when you know you wouldn't normally be."

"I never knew you thought that way Lee. So deep."

"Ha. You haven't heard deep."

"Actually, I have. Well, not heard. Just read."

Lee cringes. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's in my room. Did you know that? It sits on the shelf for me to read whenever I wait for the others to go to sleep. While I wait to be with you."

Lee thinks of the poem she had written. It was so dark. Almost able to be described as emo. Lee looks up at him. "Why do you read it? It's so dark."

He smiles, still looking around. "It's your feelings on paper. If I can't be around you, I want to be able to know you." He looks down at her. "I almost cry every time."

Lee stops walking. She steps in front of him and leans against him, putting her hands up on his chest. She feels his arms wrapped around her and she sighs. "You're willing to cry just to hear my thoughts?"

He chuckles some. "Yeah."

Lee sighs. "That's so sweet." She backs up and stands on her toes.

He leans down and kisses her before they get back to what they're supposed to be doing. Their job. He looks around as he takes her hand again. "It's hard to concentrate when the cutest girl on the face of the earth is distracting you."

Lee laughs. "Yeah. Okay. Whatever you say. You have no idea what it's like for me." She looks at him out of the corner of her eye. "You don't look to bad yourself."

It was Raph's turn to stop. He turns to her. "You know, that is the first time you have ever told me you found me attractive."

Lee couldn't help but grin. "What do you think caught my eye? Your attitude?"

Raph grins. "Um. Well, yeah. Actually, I _know _it did."

Lee takes his hand again and they start walking. "Yeah, you're right. But, you seriously are the best looking. Not to mention the tallest and the most muscular." Lee would have blushed if she had said that a week ago. She was closer to him now, and she didn't care what he knew.

He looks down at her. "Yeah? I know about the taller part, but why would you care about muscles? You don't look like that type of person."

Lee glances at him before going back to looking. This was a good time for them. To get to know each other better and all that. "No, but it feels so good when you wrap your arms around me. I know I'm protected from the world then."

Raph steps closer and puts his arm around her shoulders. "You surprise me every day. You do know though that I'm not all-powerful right? I can't keep everything from hurting you even though I wish that wasn't true."

Lee leans her head against him as they walk. "I know. Just let me believe it." She thinks for a moment. "Why do you love me?"

Raph looks down at her. He stops walking again. "I need a reason?"

Lee smiles. She sees him give her the look again and her breath is swept away instantly. Raph notices the loss for words. Well, most likely the loss for breath to say the words she wants to say.

He kisses her, wrapping his arms around her and swinging her around before putting her down and calming his racing heart. _Those eyes._ "Every time you look at me with your eyes that blue, I'm going to take your breath away."

Lee giggles as her eyes flash in the moonlight. (well, she doesn't giggle, but she doesn't chuckle either. I need a better word.) "That's an understatement. More like stealing it all." She kisses him one more time before going on.

Then she feels it. The feeling of being watched. She had been so caught up in her conversation (not to mention the one she loves standing so close) that she hadn't been paying attention. It wasn't a danger feeling. It was more like… yep. A Leo feeling. Leo had been watching them. _Great._

She knows that feeling. Leo had been watching them together. How much did he see? What did he think? She knows that she'll have to corner Leo eventually to get him to talk to her. _I wonder how long he's noticed the difference between us. _

Nothing exciting happens on their route. Don and Mikey had all the excitement. They had caught a guy attacking a woman and a pair of guys running from the police. Ahh, New York. The best city in the world for the interesting group to find excitement.

"We get your route next time," Lee says feigning a pouty attitude.

Nothing had happened on "Leo's route" either. At least nothing like what the others wanted to know. Lee knows he either feels guilty or thinks she knows about him watching her and Raph because he won't meet her eyes, even though she acts totally normal. Maybe she was trying to meet his eyes a little to hard.

The walk home was loose for everyone but Leo. Lee could tell he knew she knew. He let Mikey and Don talk about their fun most of the way home. Raph and the others seemed oblivious to Leo's abnormal mood. They just kept talking.

They were almost home when Lee heard a sound. "Guys!"

Everyone stops. They are all instantly quiet. Lee listens. She hears it again. It may only sound like a laugh to anyone else, but Lee hears something in it. Evil. Malice. She knows that sound. She's been at the other end of this situation before.

Without thinking, Lee balls her hands into fists. She goes to follow the sound. She doesn't hear the others follow her, but she knows they do. She does a signal saying to circle the alleyway ahead of them. She glares back when she sees Raph's 'are you sure?' look.

The look she gives Raph intimidates him. He's taken back. She _never_ looks at him like that. What was wrong? Was it him or the situation? He doesn't know. He just decides to listen to her. He nods to the others and they all disappear. Even Lee.

Lee stays in the shadows, not making a sound, getting closer to the ally. She hears a voice that sends shivers down her spine. Her mind flashes back. _A man walks out of the shadows in front of her. He is flanked by two other guys. He laughs and asks the other guys what they should do with her to mess with her mind._

Lee comes back to reality. She sees a young girl, maybe 15, surrounded by 3 guys. _Wow. Dejavu. _Lee grips her sai. She knows she's the leader right now. She waits for the right moment. Waits to attack.

One of the men (obviously the leader) steps up to the girl. He has just gotten out of prison. He was let out on good behavior. Ha. The whole thing was just an act. He was put in for attempted assault charges. Ha. Hardly.

He sneers in his mind. This whole situation reminds him of the time before. The time that got him sent to prison in the first place. He had come upon a girl. Just like this one. Slim, blond, and alone. _About the same age too _he thinks to himself.

This girl though, doesn't know how to fight. She's more scared and less determined too. She retreats back at every little move in her direction. She isn't street smart. She probably actually has a home. He doesn't care though. He just sees the girl and wants her. It's that simple. That's why he went after the girl 3 years ago.

_Stupid creature. _He was attacked by a giant turtle that lived under the city. He doesn't know what happened to the girl. He could have killed her for all he knew. Or cared. He didn't tell anyone about the turtle though. He knew they would call him crazy. Prison is bad, but an asylum is worse.

You probably think it's stupid of him to try again. He doesn't expect the creature to show up again. He also doesn't expect the girl he attacked 3 years ago to stand in front of him again. He _really_ doesn't expect all of that to happen, but sometimes life holds surprises. Even for people like him.

The man steps forward, going for the girl. At that exact moment, not one, but two sai land at his feet. They came from opposite directions. He jumps back. _Not again._

Lee is surprised to see another sai fly through the air but doesn't have time to think about it. She leaps down between the men and the girl. She isn't surprised that Raph is right with her coming from the opposite direction. She's just a little confused.

She wants to ask him what he's doing, but doesn't want to talk to him while he looks like he does. The look on his face is that of pure hatred. It is the scariest face Lee had ever seen him make. It would have almost scared her if it wasn't directed at the men in front of them.

"I'd think you'd learn your lesson the first time," Raph sneers at the man.

Now Lee knows why she recognized the man. It was the same one. Her heart begins to beat faster at the memory. She is instantly glad that Raph is there with her.

"Are you following me?" he retorts back.

"That's our job. To stop people like you."

"_Our_ job?" He looks at Lee. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the one who ruined my life." He laughs. "It looks like I got it easy. I went to prison, but you had to live with the creatures. Ha!"

Lee wants so bad to attack him right then, but the moment she lifts her fist, the other two men have their guns pointed at each of them. Lee knows that if she moves, there's a good possibility that Raph would get shot. That is a chance she's not willing to take. She looks over at Raph to see his reaction. _This is not good. They have guns._


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4**

Raph is looking at her. She can still see the anger in his eyes, but he's grinning at her. She knows why. He likes her reaction to the comment the man had just made. He likes how dark her eyes have become and how her fists clench. His grin disappears as the man walks toward Lee. He's ready to pounce at any time.

The man stands right in front of Lee. He looks down on her, but oddly, he feels that she's taller than him. He almost laughs. She could barely take care of herself the first time. He is almost amused by her lack of fear.

"Three years. Wow. It's amazing how three years changes someone." He puts a hand to Lee's face.

It takes all of Raph's self control to not go after him. To not beat him to the ground. He settles to growling in his throat. _How dare he touch her._ He's surprised to see how calm Lee is. He still watches the man's every move. _Why does she let him touch her? Why isn't she fighting back?_

"You look better than the last time I saw you. I can't believe you're hanging out with these… _creatures_." His thumb rubs over Lee's jaw.

Before anyone knows what's happening, Lee's fist shoots out and the man is on the ground with a bleeding nose. A satisfying crack is heard throughout the ally. She smiles evilly down at him. "I also have a better punch." She jerks her head toward Raph. "All thanks to this guy."

The man gets up and is about to go at Lee, but Raph has already beaten him to it. He stands behind Lee, giving him a look that dares him to go any closer. The man looks between the two. He focuses on the vibe he gets from them. If he wasn't acting so tough right now, he would have begun to laugh hysterically.

He catches himself and only smiles. "I can't believe it." He looks at Raph. "You love her!" He starts to laugh more. He then sees the look Lee is giving him. "No. No way! You could do so much better!" he says to Lee.

Lee steps toward him glaring. "What?" Her fists start to shake. She thinks of the others watching her as she says this next sentence. "First of all, he's family. Second of all, you have no idea how much I don't deserve the life I have." She takes another step forward, ignoring the touch from Raph on her shoulder. "Do better? What could be better? You?" Lee is about to lose all control.

He watches Lee as she steps toward him. He knows he has to do something fast to assert his dominance of the situation. He knows exactly what to do as soon as she asks him the insulting question. _Payback time._ He swings his fist fast and hard. Lee hits the ground and rolls a few times.

Everything happens so fast. The others jump down from the roof and take the guys with the guns, Raph attacks the leader, and Lee pushes herself up to her hands and knees. If she had hit her head on the ground a little harder, she'd be out of it. She shakes her head to clear it. Then she looks around to see what's going on.

Leo, Donnie, and Mikey are finishing off the other two guys and Raph… _crap! _No one noticed that the guy had grabbed a gun. It was pointed at Raph's head. _If I run, can I work up enough force and speed to push him out of the way?_

She stands unsteadily to her feet. She braces herself and is about to run when she hears the guy talk. All other sounds seem to fade away. The only voice she hears is the man's. What he says, stops her blood cold. She could almost hear her heart stop. _No._

"I shoot you, she lives. It's that simple. It's the best revenge. I kill the one who turned me in, and devastate the one who caused it all. If you move, she dies too."

She sees Raph's torn look, but he doesn't move. _Raph! Don't wory about me! Don't be stupid! _Lee pushes off. She runs full force into Raph, pushing them both just enough to dodge the bullet. It grazes across Lee's back but she hides her pain. Raph would freak. It's best to do it later.

The force behind the push knocks the breath out of Lee because of Raph's strength and his stance. She catches her breath as she turns and faces the guy. She'll face the wrath of Raph later. She goes after the guy, slamming into his chest.

They both hit the ground rolling, and roll a few feet, kicking and punching each other. He throws Lee off of him and grabs her sai she had thrown down. Not the best thing she could have done. She turns to him in time to stop him from stabbing her in the chest. Her hand grabs his wrist and twists it.

This was a trick she had learned from Casey. A twist of the hand on the wrist strong enough to twist it to an unnatural position. He cries out in pain as Lee takes the sai when his hand opens. She kicks him back and is about to stab him when she feels a hand grab her wrist, holding her back.

She turns around as Leo, Don, and Mikey take him. Raph lets go of her arm as she lets her hand drop. "Why did you stop me?" Lee asks putting her sai away. "He was going to kill me! And you!"

Raph sees how dark Lee's eyes are and chooses his words very carefully. "I didn't want you to go through what I've went through before. The guilt of killing someone out of anger." He talks to her in his most soothing voice.

Lee sees the sincerity in his eyes and lets her body relax. She leans against him and he wraps his arms around her. "I can't believe _you_ didn't try to kill him."

She feels Raph chuckle. "He gave me you. I'm more thankful than mad."

"Quit tryen to make me feel better and yell at me." Lee steps back and looks at Raph's face, trying to determine his mood and reactions.

"Yell at you?"

"Yeah. The usual 'that was dangerous, don't risk your life for me, that was stupid' and so on."

Raph smiles at her. "I'll skip that today. I'm actually impressed at how hard you hit me." He rubs his arm. Lee laughs lightly. "I also have to make sure you're okay."

Lee puts up with the check, trying not to lose it when his hands rub her jaw, feeling for any problem. She sees it takes all of _his_ self control too, to keep from kissing her right then in front of everyone.

His eyes harden when his finger moves over the bruise that's forming on her jaw. "Seeing _this_ makes me _want_ to kill him," he says giving a meaningful look at the man sitting tied up on the ground behind her. The man tries to scoot back farther before finding a wall behind him.

"I'm surprised that the bullet mark doesn't." Lee takes his hand and stands up. She gets dizzy. Raph notices.

"_It's_ fine. Your _head_ seems to have gotten the worst of it." He sweeps her off her feet and walks up to the others. He gives Leo a crooked smile when he sees the appraising look he gives him for stopping Lee.

"What happened to the girl? We both got kinda… distracted." Raph grins apologetically.

"No problem," Leo answers. He knew this whole thing was deep for both of them. "She ran off."

Then they hear sirens. "Dudes. It sounds like she called the police too. It's time to disappear!" Mikey yells leaping to the roof.

Everyone follows and get back to the sewers. Once down, Lee decides to try to act normal. She would never normally let Raph carry her. Hopefully he'll know that and refuse to let her down.

"Raph. Put me down. I'm fine," she wines.

He sees right through her like she knew he would and smiles. "I'm not putting you down until we get home. You hit your head a little too hard."

Lee sighs an exasperated sigh lays her head against his chest. She could live with this. She's asleep when they get home and Don takes her to his room to fix the scratch on her back and make sure her jaw is okay. Besides a few bruises, she's just fine.

Raph walks with her to her room and they separate reluctantly, only breaking the gaze they held with each other when the get to their rooms. Lee sits down on her bed to wait till everyone else is asleep. Raph starts to pace.

Neither of them want to wait to see each other. They are always more attached after a crisis. The thought of losing each other pulls them closer. Waiting for everyone else is never easy. They both look forward to the day their secret is revealed.

Lee starts to get restless. She decides to pass the time by getting a shower. She gets a pair of shorts and a shirt and goes to the bathroom. She avoids the mirror and takes her shower. The 15 minutes she's in there feels like years to her. She gets out and gets dressed. She brushes her hair and ends up looking in the mirror out of habit as she opens the door. She gasps.

Raph was walking down the hall to her room when he hears her gasp. He goes to the bathroom and sees Lee looking at the bruise on her jaw. "I told you."

Lee jumps and spins around. She takes in a sharp breath in surprise. "Don't scare me like that!" she hisses.

"I'm sorry." He grabs her around the waist and pulls her out of the bathroom. "That's why I wanted to go after him. It's a horrible reminder that I'm not fast enough to always save you."

They get to her room as she looks at Raph in horror. "This isn't your fault."

He looks down at her as he opens the door for her. "It always feels like it."

The door clicks shut behind them as Raph takes Lee's face in his hands. He leans down as she throws her arms around his neck and stands on her toes. They meet each other in the middle.

Raph's hands move to her waist. He lifts her up and carries her to her bed. He lays her down and takes his position beside her. He encircles her waist with his arms and pulls her closer. "I love you," he says breaking the kiss for a split second.

Lee's hands move from around his neck to his chest. "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5**

They hold each other for a long time, reveling in the fact that they're still together. Raph holds his girl and Lee clings to her love. Neither of them let the other move at all. They press themselves as close as they can to each other, taking comfort in each other's want for the other.

After a few hours, Lee asks Raph the question she's been thinking about. "The look I saw on your face when you stood beside me looking at that guy scared me. What… what was that about?"

Raph chuckles and holds her tighter. "Seeing him again reminded me of how he attacked you. I remembered what he had said standing right in front of you." He growls deep in his throat. "I also saw the look in your eyes."

Lee feels his arms flex as he tries not to hold her too tight. She scoots closer. If that's possible. "I was okay."

"Hmph. That's not what I saw. Your eyes. I could see everything in them. You remembered that night that he attacked you. You remembered the fear you felt, though you hid it." His voice gets deeper and his grip on Lee tightens automatically.

Lee doesn't try to move. She starts to talk in her soothing voice. "It's okay. You were there. I had no reason to be afraid." She laughs. "You can let go of me now."

He instantly loosens his grip. He lets out a breath as he sees Lee take deep breaths herself. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay." She attaches herself to him again and waits for his arms to go around her again. When they don't she looks up at him. "Raph?"

"I don't trust myself."

"What? Raph, what's wrong?"

"I don't trust myself to touch you when I feel like this." His eyes are hard and distant. He's trying to detach his mind from Lee. To keep from wanting to hold her.

"Raph, you aren't going to hurt me. I'm not as fragile as you think I am."

His eyes move down to meet hers. "I almost just…"

"Raph. Stop it. You aren't going to hurt me. Your anger isn't enough to hurt the one you love." She pleads to him. Something isn't right. Is he having doubts? Does he think that he shouldn't love someone as fragile as her? A human?

"Tell that to Leo."

Lee remembers when Raph told her about that fight with Leo on the roof. She remembers the regret in his eyes as he told her about the look he saw in Leo's eyes. The shock and hurt that his brother actually fought with him like that. Lee saw it had hurt him to find out that side of himself.

"It's not the same Raph." Her heart falls as he sits up. This isn't like him. "What's wrong? Did I do something? Did I say something wrong?"

"No Lee. It's not you. It's just that…"

"What? You save another girl and you start detaching from me?" She instantly wants to take back what she said. She sees the hurt look in his eyes, and he finally turns to look at her as she drops her eyes. "Raph I…" She doesn't know what to say. "I'm sorry." She looks up at him. "I didn't mean it." It's too late the damage is already done. "I guess I'm a jealous person too."

Raph surprises her by hugging her. "I'm sorry I'm worrying you. I just… I don't want to hurt you."

Lee gives into the hug, but doesn't return it. "Why can't you just get mad at me like a normal person would? You're supposed to yell at me. Be Raph."

He pulls back. "I just said I don't want to hurt you and you want me to yell at you? You are so confusing."

Lee leans against Raph. "You yelling at me would make me feel better for hurting you like I did."

Raph smiles down at her. "You didn't hurt me. I'm fine."

She sighs. "I can see your feelings in your eyes. I'm not stupid."

He brings her face up to look at her and is taken back by their color. They aren't even close to blue. They seem to reflect his eyes they look so brown. "Lee, it's okay. Really." He hugs her as she starts to cry. "Don't cry love."

He lays back down with Lee as she cries, holding her until she falls asleep. Then he goes to his own room. He has some things to think about. _What were those looks Lee was giving Leo earlier that night trying to get his attention? They did seem closer since that fight that almost killed each of them. _

Raph sits down in his hammock. He thinks about Lee's eyes. _They weren't blue around Leo. They were gray. _He thinks about the color they were in the room earlier. _What was that about? She must be hiding something. Is she upset? Scared? Is she having doubts? What is going on? It seems as if we're both distancing._

Raph paces as he thinks. Then he sits down. Then he gets up again. He feels alone. As if Lee wasn't there. As if… wait. He sneaks to her room. He looks through the crack in the door and sees Lee crying. _Great. I made her cry again._ He sneaks away and jumps down to the bottom floor.

He goes to let out his anger. He starts punching his punching bag as if it were a living thing that wouldn't die. He just keeps going at it. He doesn't notice what time it is or that someone is watching him. He just lets out everything. His anger at hurting Lee yet again, his pain at what she had said, his confusion, and so on.

***

Lee wakes up cold. She sits up and looks around. She's alone again. This time, she knows he's not coming back. She had hurt him and doesn't blame him for leaving. It just hurts to think he left her alone after being held by him every night for so long.

She lays back down and pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs them as she starts to cry. _All of the pain I've gotten, blood and all, and I cry just because Raph leaves me. _Lee is ashamed of herself. _This is stupid._

_But you love him, _a voice says.

_Then what's going on?_

_Let time go as it does. Fix it when you feel ready._

She lays there for a while, until she hears a sound. She gets up and goes to the stairs. She hears someone in the dojo. _Raph._ She is so tempted to turn around and go back to her room, but she wants to see him for at least a second.

She creeps down the stairs and stands at the door of the dojo, just looking in. Her breath catches when she sees how hard he's going at his punching bag. She sees many emotions on his face, but can't pick them out separately. She looks around her making sure no one's around and keeps watching.

***

Raph punches until he's worn out. He falls to his knees and puts his head in his hands. "Why can't I keep from hurting anyone?" Then he feels it. Lee's presence.

He stands up and gives the bag one more punch for good measure. As he walks toward the door, he feels Lee leave. By the time he gets to the stairs, he knows she's probably in her room.

Raph sighs as he climbs the stairs. He looks at the time. He decides to just get his shower and stay awake for the next hour until everyone woke up and think. He gets his shower and goes to his room. After a while he hears them up and around and decides to get up himself. He walks by Lee's door and sees it's still closed. _Great. I really did it this time._

***

When Raph falls to his knees, she just wants to run to him. When she hears what he says, she just wants to comfort him. Just talk to him. She doesn't. She stays hidden. She gets up when he stands up and, with a last look at him, goes to her room.

She fights the urge to stay and see him, glistening with sweat from his hard workout. To have his arms wrap heavily around her, tired from their tough use. To hear his heartbeat beating faster than normal. To just… be with him. That's all she wants.

She silently leaps up the stairs and goes to her room. She shuts the door and leans against it. She slides to the floor and hugs her knees, resting her head on them. She falls asleep to the sound of Raph's shower, still refusing to cry again.

***

Raph walks down the hallway and leaps over the railing instead of taking the stairs. He surprises everyone showing up without Lee. He ignores their questioning stairs and gets his cereal.

"Hey," Don says carefully. "Where's Lee?"

"Asleep." It wasn't a total lie. She _could_ be asleep.

Everyone looks at each other. Something was wrong. Raph would never come down here without Lee. It's been months since they've been apart. Only Leo knows how close, and he's now officially confused. They seemed so close yesterday.

They decide to take his word for it together with their eyes and all finish their breakfast. With a look from Leo, Mikey and Don head upstairs. Probably to their rooms. Or so Leo thinks. They stop right out of sight but still in hearing distance.

Leo turns to Raph. "What's wrong?"

"Waddya mean what's wrong?"

"Raph, I know you would never usually come down here without Lee."

"She's sleeping! Do ya want me ta wake her up?!"

Leo sighs. "Raph, I know you've been staying with her all night for a while now." He lets that sink in before continuing. "I know something happened last night. Now I'm going to ask you again. What's wrong?"

Mikey and Don look at each other. "Dude."

"I wonder how long," Don replies.

Raph sighs as he pushes his chair back and stands up. He puts his bowl in the sink and turns to Leo. "So, you've been spying on us now have you?"

Leo's head falls. "I like to know what's going on." He looks back at Raph. "If there's something wrong, I want to know about it." He catches Raph's gaze. "There _is_ something wrong. It's easy to see."

"What's going on isn't any of your business!"

"_She_ is!"

"Then go talk to _her_!" He turns on his heel and goes to the door. _Is there something going on between them?_ He stops. "If you upset her, and I find out… I'll think of something." He leaves.

_Well at least I know he still cares about her._ Leo thinks for a moment before going to her room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch. 6**

Lee wakes up to a knock on her door. She quickly stands up and silently goes to her bed. She sits down. "Come in." She never expected it to be Raph, but she was still disappointed when it wasn't.

"Hey," Leo says coming in.

"Hey."

He goes to sit next to her. "You okay?" He puts his arm around her shoulders.

She instinctively leans against him and sighs. "Not really."

"Mind telling me what's wrong?"

"Sorta."

"I just want to help."

Lee looks up at him. "I don't even really know what's wrong."

Leo smiles. "I can understand that. When it has to do with Raph, it's almost always confusing for the other guy. Or girl," he corrects himself.

It has the desired effect. Lee smiles. It leaves as she starts to think. "I know you know about us."

"I know."

She hesitates. "I think he… doesn't feel the same. Ever since the fight last night. Something happened."

Leo thinks for a while. He evaluates Raph's entire being. All of his choices and actions, factoring in his feelings with Lee and the fight last night. _Why would Raph distance himself from Lee? What's going on in his head?_ He thinks for a while before finally coming to an answer. _Wow._

He turns Lee to face him and looks her in the eyes. He's taken back. They're darker than he remembers. "Do your eyes change color?"

Lee's mouth turns up into a slight smile. "Yeah."

He nods his head, taking it in stride. _Dark colors must mean sad._ "Anyway, I think I know what's going on."

"How can you know?"

He smiles some. "I know Raph. From everything that's happened and all of his actions and reactions to everything, I can figure his line of thought."

"Oh. Okay." She sounds skeptical. "What's wrong then?"

"Okay. This may sound weird, but Raph doesn't want to get too close to you."

"What?!" Lee leans back in shock. "It's a little late for that don'tchya think?! Why now?!"

Leo smiles apologetically. "He's kidding himself. He's afraid that you'll get too attached to each other and he doesn't want to let you down."

Lee thinks for a minute. "That makes sense. Last night he told me he was afraid he'd hurt me."

"He means that in more ways than one. He always has been into expressing himself with anger." He takes Lee into his arms when he sees the look in her eyes. "Hey. What's wrong? He loves you. You know that right?"

Lee nods as Leo hugs her. She needed a hug. She thinks to herself of all the times Leo has helped her. With everything Raph wasn't there for and even if he was there. "Thanks Leo."

He rests his head on hers. "No problem." He holds her for a little longer before saying, "You know _I_ love you right?"

"I love you too." She smiles up at him, pulling away some. "As an older brother of course."

He laughs as he stands up. "Raph went out earlier. Maybe you can talk to him tomorrow."

Lee smiles. "Thanks for everything Leo." She gives him one more hug before he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. She's already thinking of Raph as she sits on her bed. She gets up later to go to the dojo.

***

Leo walks down the hall, catching a glimpse of someone running into Donnie's room. He goes to the door and opens it. "You guys really shouldn't be spying."

Mikey and Don are in there trying to act like they weren't doing anything. Mikey cracks under Leo's stern stare. "We wanted to know!"

"Mikey!" Don rolls his eyes. He turns to Leo. "I can't believe it took us so long to figure it out." He grins at Mikey. "They do make a great pair though." They both laugh as Leo shuts the door behind him.

"C'mon guys. Be serious. Raph is distancing himself from Lee. We have to find a way to bring them back together." He sits next to Mikey on Don's bed. "I have no doubt you two heard both of my conversations."

Don grins embarrassed. "Um… yeah." He thinks for a moment. "Let's give them a while. If they don't work it out themselves, then we can move in."

Mikey turns to Leo. "I agree. I mean, if Raph really loves her, he won't be able to stay away."

"Unless he truly is determined to say away. You heard. If he really is worried about hurting her, he _will_ stay away," Don points out. "You know he will."

Leo replies, "Unless he's the only one to protect her."

They all look at each other. Mikey comments, "Dude. That's good."

"All we have to do is next time we get into a fight, make sure Raph is the only one able to protect her." Don looks to Leo for confirmation. He smiles when he gets a nod.

Mikey speaks up. "We just have to be sure this plan doesn't backfire on us."

Leo looks at Don. "He's right."

Don nods understandingly. "We'll all keep an eye on her. We just let Raph deal with it. He usually is all over the place."

Leo gets up. "Okay. We have to pick the perfect moment. Over the next few days, we'll patrol together."

Mikey gets up too. "Right on!" He leaves the room.

Leo shares a weirded out look with Don before leaving too. He goes to his room to meditate for a while. He mostly ends up thinking about Lee and Raph. Mikey goes to watch T.V. Don goes down later looking for Lee when he finds she's not in her room.

He sees Mikey sleeping on the couch as he heads to look for Lee in the dojo. He smiles to himself. _Silly Mikey. _He opens the door and looks in. Lee is… punching Raph's punching bag! _Wow. She must be under some serious stress._

He goes in and leans against the wall watching as Lee attacks the thing. He watches everything she does and notices it's exactly like Raph. _She's watched him way too much._ As if to confirm this, Lee leaps and kicks the bag, using it to flip over backwards. _He's never flipped using that, but she replicated his flip perfectly._ He shakes his head in wonder.

Lee suddenly turns to him. He's surprised at how she looks. She seems… pained. As she flexes her arms, Don realizes she's probably been in here a while. She's probably pained in more ways than one. He's surprised when she shakes it off and challenges him.

"You wanna join me?" She grabs an extra staff and swings it around.

Don takes out his. "You sure? You look tired." He walks up to Lee.

She makes the first move. "I'm fine."

They fight a while stopping their shots just short of their mark each time. Don shows Lee new moves and she imitates them. She can do them almost perfectly by the time they're done. Don's impressed.

Lee sits down in the middle of the floor and lets herself fall to her back. Don sits down next to her. "You look really tired now."

She sits up. "I'm fine."

Don sighs. "You're acting just like Raph. You're upset so you push yourself to your limit." He looks at Lee's limp arms. "How long were you in here before me?"

Lee thinks a second. "I don't know. A while I guess."

Don stands up. "I came in here two hours ago. You were probably in here for an hour before me." He lifts her up. "You need a rest."

"Don! Put me down!"

"Never!" he laughs as he runs to the living room where Mikey was laying.

He wakes Mike up with his yell and he can barely get up fast enough to avoid getting landed on by the two. "Hey!" They are all soon laying on top of each other laughing. Don on the bottom, then Lee, then Mikey.

"Mikey! Get off me!" Lee pushes up and Mike rolls off.

They all sit up and Lee falls asleep against Don with her feet on Mikey as they watch T.V. They're there for an hour before Don turns to Mike. "I saw her punching Raph's punching bag when I found her in the dojo."

"Wow. She never uses that thing."

"I know. She was probably in there an hour by how tired she looked, yet when I went in, she challenged me. I'm worried. She's just like Raph. What if she works herself too hard?" Don looks down at Lee and pushes the hair away that had fallen into her face. It's always doing that.

"I don't know." He grins. "I told you they were alike."

Don chuckles. "Yeah. Too much." He looks up at him. "She's going to end up hurting herself if she's really as much like him as she was today. She'll end up going topside alone and getting hurt. Or worse."

Mike's smile fades. "Good point." He looks down at Lee. "Do you think we should put her to bed?"

"I'm fine."

Mikey almost jumps out of his shell. "How long have you been awake?"

"Now… 10 seconds."

He laughs as Lee sits up. "Okay. Since you're fine, do you want to stay up and watch the horror movie marathon tonight?"

Lee smiles at him. "That sounds great." She loved watching movies with Mikey and had been neglecting that lately. She loves the way his eyes light up as she says yes.

"Lee…"

"Don. I'm fine."

"Okay." He gives Lee a hug and gets up. "We're patrolling tonight. You can watch the movies afterwards." He heads up to his room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 7**

Mike turns to Lee who is already leaning against him. He puts his arm around her. "Dude. You are tired. Are you sure you want to stay up tonight?"

"Mikey, I'm fine. Why won't anyone believe that?"

"Because we can see it in your eyes."

Lee sighs. "I know."

Mikey hugs her and she climbs into his lap. He knows instantly that something's wrong. He encircles her with his arms and holds her for a while when he feels her shake. When it stops he holds her back a little. "He _does_ love you."

Lee looks up at him. "How do you know why…"

He winces. "Oops."

"He told you!"

"Well… no. Me and Donnie…"

"You all know!" Lee falls back against him. "Wonderful."

"I'm sorry," Mike says doing his apologetic smile. "We just… wanted to make sure you were okay."

Lee sighs. "It's okay." She sits back to look at him. "Now that everyone knows, what do they think?"

"We all want to help."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. You guys were so happy. I mean, you can definitely see a difference in the both of you." He lifts her up, and before she can do anything he's spinning her around.

"Mikey!" she laughs. "Put me down!"

He laughs. He loves hearing Lee laugh. Especially when she's upset. He pretends to drop her but catches her just in time. Lee grabs onto his arms as he lowers her down. "You're fine," he laughs.

Lee laughs as Mike lets go and steps back. He opens his arms and Lee jumps into them. He throws her up in the air and spins her around before she grabs his neck. He wraps his arms around her and sets her on her feet. He holds her in a hug for a while.

"Thanks Mikey," Lee whispers.

Then they hear a sound. Mike lets Lee go and she turns around. Raph is standing in the doorway. _Shoot._ She sees the look on his face and doesn't know what to say. She sees how he could take this the wrong way. How can she explain?

She doesn't have to say anything. He turns around and leaves again. She sighs and sinks to the ground. Mikey picks her up and carries her to the couch where he hugs her while she cries. "I'm sorry."

"No Mikey. It's okay. I'll talk to him later."

***

Raph storms through the sewers._ She went for Mikey!_ It may have not been a big deal if her eyes were their normal color. They weren't though. They were sparkling blue. For Mike! _I can't believe this! I would have suspected Leo! Wait. She wouldn't go for any of them would she?_

He finds himself on their roof. _Why am I here?_ He paces angrily for a while before letting himself sink to his knees. _Did she really move on that fast? I didn't even break up with her! I was going to talk to her!_ He thinks about her eyes. _They're never that blue with anyone but me! What did I miss? What were they doing before I came? Did Leo ever talk to her? What went on with them?_

He watches as the sun sets. He remembers one night when he was up here with Lee. Her eyes had glinted red when she looked at him. He had smiled and said how she had matched him. Raph sighs and stands up. He starts walking.

He doesn't know where he's going, but then again, he doesn't care. He walks over rooftops and leaps over alleyways until he stops at one. It's dark now. The only things around him are the shadows. Then he sees the glint of metal.

***

Lee wakes up gasping for breath. She feels arms around her. She turns to a very worried Mikey. She had fallen asleep on the couch. She breathes fast, processing the dream. The same dream. Only this time, things were different. She knew what was going on. It was going to happen soon. It could even have already started.

"Mikey! Get your stuff and tell Leo and Donnie too! Raph's in trouble!"

Mike doesn't argue. Within two minutes time, everyone is running out of the lair and through the sewers. Leo turns to Lee. "What's going on?! How do you know Raph is in trouble?!" He is very confused. He has every right to be.

"I've been having the same dream for a long time now. A very long time. It gets clearer and clearer every time. I had it again a few minutes ago. I saw Raph's expression, his eyes, the faint light still in the sky, and the way he walked. Like he was pained. It all pointed to right now."

Mikey turns to Lee. "You mean he acted like he did…"

"When he walked out earlier," Lee finishes for him.

"What actually _happens_ in your dream?" Don asks as they get out of the sewers and start heading up to the rooftops.

Lee turns to him. "I've never seen the end."

"And you don't want to," Don says understandingly.

Lee nods as they start running. They get to her and Raph's roof and stop. Lee looks around. She doesn't have to wait for a signal long. She hears the faint sound of metal on metal. She runs in that direction.

***

He freezes as he's surrounded. _Perfect. Purple dragons. Just what I need right now._ He takes out his sais as he turns around looking at them. All at once, they come at him. Left and right, they attack him.

He fights them off at first, but more come. He is tired within minutes and misses good shots and blocks. There are just too many for any one person to fight off. He is beat down again and again. Then one gets a clear shot. Then another. And another. Raph hits the ground. A sword comes down toward his shoulder.

***

Lee's heart wrenches when she hears him cry out. She leaps over an ally. She can see them now. _We're coming Raph. We're coming. We'll be there soon._ She runs across that roof and leaps over the last ally separating her from him and whacks an attacker silly right off the bat.

She is next to Raph instantly, fighting off people left and right. She takes out the one who stabbed him with the sword. "Raph!" She is rammed into by someone. They roll before Lee stabs him and heads back towards Raph.

Don is already protecting him. Leo is surrounded by dragons and Mikey… Lee looks around for Mikey. She hears someone get taken out behind her and turns to see Mikey standing over someone.

"Thanks Mikey!" she calls as she heads to Raph. She falls to her knees by Raph. She almost gets sick at the sight of the knife in his left shoulder. "Don! What do I do! It looks horrible!"

"Don't take it out! It will bleed more!"

Lee turns back to Raph. His eyes are squeezed shut against the pain and his teeth are clenched. "Take it out. Please."

"No." Her voice is firm. "That is something I _will not_ do." She looks at it. It's very low in the shoulder. _No_. "Please tell me it's only in your shoulder." She holds her breath waiting for the answer.

He knows what she's talking about. "No. It's okay. It's nowhere major."

Lee breathes a sigh of relief. She sees his eyes open. They find hers. She sees the pain behind them. More than just physical pain. "I'm sorry."

His eyes close. "Lee just… go fight."

She clenches her fists. She takes out her sais again and starts to take her anger out on the purple dragons. She moves in and out of them with ease, striking them down one after another. She is fueled by her anger. At them for hurting Raph, at herself for hurting him, and at him for not understanding.

She takes down one after another, easily executing Raph's moves she was practicing earlier today. She watched him so much, she can easily picture him doing them as if he were standing right next to her. She visualizes every move before she does it. She is vaguely aware of Leo fighting next to her.

***

He sits up, gritting against the pain. He opens his eyes when the pain lessens and looks around. His heart swells with pride when he sees Lee easily fighting off man after man. Everyone who comes at her.

He also notices… she doesn't factor Leo into her fight. It's like he isn't really there to her. _If I was fighting, she'd be including me._ He watches her and also notices that she's fighting with her anger, sadness, and pain.

He watches as Leo and Lee both spin around and lock blades with each other. They give each other a shocked look before spinning around each other to switch sides. _She'd be a match for Leo_ he thinks. Then his heart stops. "No!"

***

Lee sees a sword coming toward her and spins to block it. She finds herself face to face with Leo. She shares a shocked look with him before they both spin to protect each other from an attack. They keep fighting.

Lee takes down two more people before a searing pain shoots through her right shoulder. She hears Raph cry out as she drops the sai in her right hand an falls to her knees. _Someone must have thrown it._

She puts her other sai away and puts her hand to the knife in her shoulder. She closes her hand around the handle and grits her teeth, ready to yank it out. She starts to count to three, preparing herself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch. 8**

"Lee! Don't you dare!" Don yells.

She looks him in the eyes defiantly.

"We'll be fine! Just come sit behind me! I can protect you!"

Lee grips the knife and looks Don in the eyes. She pulls the knife out, her eyes closing as she suppresses the yell that threatens to break out of her throat. She looks at the bloody knife then looks around. She sees someone going toward Mikey and throws it. _That's the best use I could ever think of._

She doesn't need to see to know that it hits her target square in the back. Her eyes are drawn to Raph who is looking at her like she had just stabbed herself. She doesn't have time to look long though. Someone has gotten through Leo's protection and was coming at her.

She stands up but a bat swings in front of her face, hitting her attacker head on before she can get to him. "Casey!"

"Hi sweetheart!" He throws her his hockey stick. "It looks like you need a one handed weapon." He turns back to fight.

"Thanks Case!" She spins the stick around with her left hand, whacking someone back. She twirls the hockey stick around her, using her neck, back, and legs as leverage. She holds her right arm close against her side to keep from moving her shoulder too much. It hurts her to no end.

Always looking for things flying in the air now, she moves through everyone with ease again. Though one-handed moves are good, they can't protect you forever. They will eventually learn a way to get through your defenses. There are shots left open.

Lee jumps over a swing for her legs, wincing from the pain as her arm jars around from the landing. She blocks one shot, but another makes it through. She can't move in time. She's gasping for breath.

***

He cusses under his breath as he takes the knife in his shoulder in his hand. He glances at Don to make sure he isn't looking before he pulls it out. He growls as he stands up. He throws the knife to someone going for Lee, following her example at not wasting a good weapon.

He makes his way towards Lee who is currently guarded by Casey. He ducks under a swing from Casey and puts and arm around Lee's shoulder. He sits her up and looks in her eyes. They lighten when they meet his. They almost, but not quite, make it to gray. He starts to get worried.

***

He had stabbed Lee in her side. He laughs as she gasps with pain and jerks the blade out. He watches as she grabs her side and falls to her knees. He's about to throw the killing strike when everything goes black.

***

Casey takes his place next to Lee after taking out her attacker. "You okay?"

Lee breathes short, fast breaths. "Not really. Watch out!"

Casey turns just in time to block a strike. He starts to fight again. "Hold on Lee. This will be over soon."

She holds her side as she tries to breathe. It becomes increasingly difficult when she feels _his_ arm around her shoulder. She starts to gasp for breath when he looks into her eyes. She sees the worried look he gives her.

"Hey."

He gives a short laugh. "Hey." He looks at her shoulder and her side. "Wow." He looks at her. "Can't you get through _one_ fight without getting a single cut or bruise?"

She smiles as best as she can with the pain she's in. "No. Haven't you figured it out yet? The world is out to get me."

"I've noticed." He grins down at her. "It won't get you if I have something to say about it." He lays her down. "You gonna be okay if I leave you here?"

Lee takes his hand. "_I'll_ be fine. _You_ be careful." She lets go of his hand as he stands up next to Casey. _Please be careful._

Her eyes get heavy after she watches Raph run off. She looks at her side. It is covered in blood. She doesn't bother looking at her shoulder. She lets her eyes close.

***

_Ouch._ Her side is stinging. She opens her eyes to see Don cleaning her cut on her side. She sees already bloody bandages and guesses this is the second time he's taking care of her. She relaxes when he sits her up and wraps it again. "Hey Don."

"Hey. How're you doin'?"

Lee thinks before answering. "To be honest, it hurts."

Don laughs. "Good. That tells me you're going to be just fine."

Lee lays her head back. Then she freaks out. "Where's Raph? Is he okay?"

"Umm…"

"Don…"

"He's… still unconscious."

Lee drops her head again. Her eyes close. "What happened?" she asks through clenched teeth. She waits for the worst answer possible.

"A lot."

She sighs. "Will he be okay?" she asks pronunciating every word.

"Honestly… I don't know. He's healing okay, but he's… not waking up." He sits on Lee's bed. "I'm sorry Lee."

Leo comes in. "Lee!" He sighs in relief and goes over to the bed. He takes Don's spot when he gets up. He turns back to him as he head toward the door. "Tell Mikey. He's in there watching Raph."

Don nods and leaves the room as Leo turns back to Lee. "Hey." He hugs her.

"Hey Leo." Her voice is barely a whisper.

He knows exactly why. "Don't worry. You know Raph. He'll be fine. He's always turning out okay."

Lee nods her head. That's all she can do. Her eyes go to the door when Mikey comes in. She couldn't help but smile when she sees how big his eyes get.

"Lee!" he sprints to her bed and gently gives her a hug.

"Hey Mikey."

"Hey Mike. How's Raph?" Leo asks quietly.

Mikey's face falls. "Nothing's changed."

They look back at Lee as she sighs. _C'mon Raph. You can make it through this. _She pronunciates every word again. "How bad is it?"

Leo answers. "Don injected him with that healing medicine of his and everything healed up. He just won't _wake_ up."

"The _stuff_ didn't even work!" Lee yells sitting up suddenly.

"Lee, it's okay. We just think he hit his head a little too hard this time. He'll wake up. You'll see." Mikey tries to reassure her.

Leo puts a hand behind her and lowers her back down. He takes her hand. "He's in Don's room so he can keep an eye on him. He'll be just fine with Don."

Lee nods. She doesn't open her eyes. She hears them leave. The door closes as a single tear rolls down her cheek.

***

Don keeps Lee asleep as much as possible. He knows if he doesn't, she'll insist on getting up to see Raph. Two days pass and Raph still doesn't wake up. They all get increasingly worried.

On the third day, Don lets Lee stay awake. Her side is healed up enough and her shoulder is good. She asks how Raph is doing as usual. After the _also_ usual answer of 'nothing's changed' instead of asking to see him, she just gets up.

"Careful Lee."

"I'm fine Mikey."

"Still. Be careful." He's walking with Lee to Don's room. He opens the door for her. He's about to go in too, but feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Leo. He shuts the door and they sit in Lee's room with Don to wait.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch. 9**

Lee goes through the door and it shuts behind her. "Oh Raph." She slowly walks up to the bed. There are no bandages on him. _There are no cuts, yet he isn't okay. _"Why won't you wake up Raph?"

She kneels by the bed. She looks around. Only one machine is hooked up to him. It reads his every heartbeat. She watches as steady waves move across the screen. She listens to every beep.

She turns to him. She takes his hand in hers. _Should I talk to him? I heard they can sometimes hear you. Would he hear me? What should I say?_ She flips his hand over in hers.

"Hey." She starts running her fingers lightly over his hand like she had so long ago. It's like she'd had a bad dream all over again. Only this time, it's still going on into reality. Cruel reality. And this time, he's not awake to tell her it's okay. But she still feels like she should say something.

She tries to figure out what to say. "I don't know if you can hear me or not. I've heard they sometimes can." She looks up at his face. "I _hope_ you can hear me. It would make it seem as if you never missed a thing."

She moves her hand farther than his wrist. She starts to run her fingers not just across his hand, but up to his elbow. "Look, I… I just want to say that what you saw the other day with me and Mikey... it wasn't what you thought it was. Me and Mikey are just friends. Brother and sister. He will never be more than that like you are to me." She traces one of his veins up his arm.

_I wish I could talk more confident. I don't even know if he's listening or not._ "He was just trying to cheer me up. I had just…" she laughs some,"… finished beating the _crap_ out of your punching bag."

Her head jerks to the screen. _I could swear I just heard a different beep._ She turns back to him. "I was tired and… I guess I felt a little hurt. Mikey knew that somehow. He picked me up and spun me around. What he didn't know though was that is what you do with me." She runs her finger over a scar.

She looks down again. She starts moving her whole hand up and down his arm instead of just her fingers. "If I closed my eyes, I could pretend it was you." She takes in a sharp breath. "Oh no. What color were my eyes? Were they blue? Crap," she talks to herself. The reality of what he could have seen comes to mind.

She sighs and lets her head fall to the bed. She groans. "Oh Raph. I'm sorry." She raises her head. "I seriously imagined it was you for a second. It made me feel like I did when I was around you. The hug from Mikey didn't help any. It just made me wish it were you. Mikey could never make me feel like you do. Leo either. Or Donnie."

She looks to the screen. She heard it again. _Keep talking Lee. Just keep talking._ "You might want to know why I was beatin' the crap out of your punchin' bag." She laughs to herself. "I guess I figured if I couldn't be with you, I'd do something that reminded me of you. I was a little too much like you."

"I practiced for an hour before Don came in. Then I worked with him. I guess three hours total is a little to much." She laughs to herself again. "Don released my stress great. He grabbed me and jumped onto the couch were an unsuspecting Mikey was sleeping. We ended up in a pile."

She laughs again. "Poor Mike. I ended up falling asleep while they watched T.V." She remembers her promise. "Crap! I had promised him I'd watch the horror movie marathon with him!" She sighs. "I'll have to apologize later." She's quiet for a moment. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. Maybe I'm hoping you _do_ hear me."

She lays her head down. "I really _am_ sorry Raph. I really _do_ love you. It's too late to back out now. I _need_ you Raph. You're the other half of my heart. No. The other half of me. I gave it to you, you broke it, and you're the only one who could ever fix it." She climbs into bed with him and hugs his arm.

She doesn't know what to say anymore. She begins to talk randomly.

"Remember that first day on our roof? You had sat with me?" She takes a breath, trying to keep her emotions under control before continuing. "I realized that life could be beautiful. And you seemed to know what I needed. You stayed with me. And walked me back home. And you never pushed me. You knew I was nervous. And you held out."

Oblivious to the changes to the rhythm on the screen, and the beeps, she continues. "I keep remembering times on the roof Raph. Like the time you said my eyes were red from the sun. You had looked at me with a look of love that I barely ever saw from you. And I thought the reason you never told me you loved me is that you didn't love me like that."

Tears begin flowing down her face. "And now I realize that you were hiding it from me because you didn't want to hurt me. Didn't want to disappoint me somehow. But Raph, I love you. Ever since that first day. That first look into your eyes. The wave that went between us. I have always loved you. And I'm not ready to lose you."

She finally hears the beeps. She looks to Raph's face. "C'mon Raph. Come back to me." She slides off the bed to her feet again, taking his hand. She wants to give him plenty of room for when he wakes up.

"I _know_ I upset you. I _know _things haven't really gone well. But Raph. I _want_ you. I _need_ you. I can't live without you. I can't even _breathe_ at the thought of you gone. It hurts. I couldn't take it. Please. Give us a chance. Come back to me Raph. And stay with me. I love you." She leans down and kisses him.

As she pulls away, she feels a hand touch her neck. She is pulled into another kiss. It is returned. She pulls away and her eyes meet another pair. Beautiful, glowing, amber eyes giving her the intense stare she loves so much. "Raph," she barely breathes out.

"I love you too. I'll never leave you again. Never."

"Raph."

He moves over and opens his arms. She immediately climbs into them and lays next to him. "Never let me go."

"Gladly love." He pulls her close and locks his arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you too. And only you." She presses herself closer. She lays her head against his chest and listens to his heartbeat. His beautiful heartbeat.

He kisses her head. "Only you."

Lee sighs. She feels Raph's arms tighten. Her heart beats erratically as she soaks in the moment. Their moment. She moves back as small of an amount as possible to look him in the eyes. "Did you hear everything I said?" she asks nervously.

He grins down at her. "Yes." Lee groans and he pulls her closer to him. "And I loved every minute of it. I learned what I missed and… what I did to you. I'm ashamed to say… that if I was awake, I probably wouldn't have listened." He lets go of her with his right arm just long enough to lift her head up to kiss her. This time he won't let her pull away. She doesn't object.

Raph has never been the best with words. And because of that, he's always been better at communicating with actions. This kiss channels everything he's feeling at the moment through it. She feels it. She feels his love for her. His need for her. And she knows he's not ever going to leave her again.

They separate when they notice the furious pace the machine is beeping at. Raph laughs as Lee goes back to her regular position. "Now you know what _my_ heart does."

"I love it." They both lay there for a few minutes before Lee has a thought. _Stupid brain. Stop thinking._ "Raph?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

Her heart jumps at that. "I hate to break up this moment, I really do, but don't you think we should let the others know you're okay? They're really worried."

"Oh. I guess you're right."

Lee gets up. She feels him tighten his grip on her hand. "I'll come back. I promise. I won't leave." Neither of them want to leave each other right now. They barely want to let each other go.

Lee goes to the door. She opens it and calls out, "Guys! He's okay!" She walks to the bed and sits down on it. She turns off the machine as she counts backwards. "3… 2… 1…"

The door bursts open and Leo, Donnie, and Mikey run in. "Raph!"

Leo and Don catch themselves before they ram into Raph, but Mikey can't. "Raphie!" His arms encompass him.

"Mike!" He lets him hug him before shoving him back. "Lay off will ya?"

Don and Leo both watch and nod at him. Raph grins at both of them.

"I knew your head wouldn't let you down," Leo jokes.

Raph glares, but it's good-naturedly and everyone knows it.

They all step away and watch as Lee takes her old spot next to Raph back. They share a knowing glance with each other when Raph looks down at Lee. Leo and Mikey leave. Once outside they give each other a high five before going downstairs.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch. 10**

"Alright you two. Out of my room," says Don. He turns to Lee. "Unless you're side or shoulder is bothering you?"

Lee is suddenly aware of the pain in her shoulder and side. "Yeah. That would be wonderful."

Don gives her another shot and checks her over before she and Raph leave. He turns to her. "You okay?"

"Nothing worse than what you saw. It's actually a lot better."

He loosens up and grabs her into his arms. "So. Waddya want ta do today?"

Lee loves how careful with her cuts Raph is even when he's acting normal. "I don't know."

She relaxes when he swings her to a comfortable position in his arms. He carries her down the hall. "Let's go see what there is ta do then."

He carries her downstairs and drops her onto Mikey who is sitting on the couch again. She lands in Mikey's lap. "Hey!" He grabs Lee and runs. "She's mine!"

"Mikey! Get back here! Mike!" Raph runs after them. "Give her back!"

Lee laughs and looks up at Mikey. "You might want to do as he says. He looks pretty mad."

Mikey just laughs and runs into the dojo. He sets her down and starts running again just as Raph bursts through the door. "Ahhh!"

"Mike!" He tackles him and they roll around for a few minutes. Mikey finally escapes Raph's grasp and runs out of the room laughing.

Lee walks up to Raph. "Nice."

He grins as he stands up. "You shoulda seen us the day he took my sai for the first time. I went after him like… he had taken you."

Lee smiles. "That would've been interesting to see alright." She wraps her arms around his neck and stands on her toes.

He leans down to her as his arms go around her waist. "You know… never mind." He kisses her.

"What?" she asks when they part.

"Nothin'. I was just gonna say how ya need to get taller, but I like you this short. You fit in my arms perfectly."

"I'm not that short. Just… compared to you guys I am."

He grins. "As I said. I like you just the way you are." He kisses her again. They stand there for a long time, never breaking the kiss. Raph pulls away first.

Lee sighs. "Can't you _ever_ keep kissing me until _I'm_ ready to stop?"

He laughs as they walk out. He takes her hand. "I'm sorry I'm never enough for ya." He opens the door for her.

Lee holds onto his arm as they walk out. "You are more than enough. I don't deserve you. Any of you actually."

"Of course you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here." He goes to the fridge, towing her along with him. "Everything happens for a reason."

Lee sees him reaching for a pizza box on the shelf. She has it in her hands and is running away before Raph knows what's going on.

"Hey!" He runs after her. "Why is everyone running off with what's mine today?!" He reaches for her and misses as she dodges him.

She laughs. "Because we love to bug you! It's fun!"

"Apparently!" He jumps over the couch where Mikey had sat back down as Lee is running around it. He snatches the pizza away as she skids to a stop and grabs her with his other hand. He pulls her along with him to the couch.

Lee takes a piece of the pizza and eats it as Mike reaches over her shoulder and grabs one for himself. They all share it as Mikey watches T.V. Lee lays against Raph and falls asleep with his arm around her, finally letting the pain meds make her tired.

***

He looks down at Lee sleeping in his arms. He loves how she looks when she sleeps. Especially with him. She looks so happy and peaceful. He looks up to Mike. "Hey Mikey. Thanks."

He turns to Raph confused. "For what?"

"For making her happy. She told me what'cha did."

Mike smiles. "No prob." It's quiet for a moment, then he looks back to Raph. "Are her dreams always that extreme? She woke up gasping for breath."

"When?" _Why wasn't I with her?_

"When she was sleeping on the couch… with me." He blushes. "After you left."

"Oh." He looks down at Lee, dismissing what Mike had said. He knows it wasn't like that. "They're only that bad when they scare her. What dream was it? Did she tell ya?"

Mike nods slowly. "Yeah. It's what saved you. She knew what was going on up there. That's how we got there in time."

Raph sighs and lets his head drop back. "And I told her, her dreams weren't true. That they were just fears she had."

"Apparently not dude."

"Yeah. Apparently." _What kind of person has dreams of the future? How is _she_ able to do that?_

They both sit there for a while. They both end up falling asleep. Leo and Don come down at one point, finding them all asleep. They sit at the table in the kitchen and eat. Raph wakes up first.

He turns to them when he hears them. "Hey." He looks down at Lee. He pushes the hair out of her face.

"Hey," Leo answers. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Don gave me that stuff. I have to be fine."

"That's not what I meant. Are you two okay now?"

Raph smiles. "Yeah. We're good."

Leo smiles back. "Cool."

They share the peaceful silence.

At one point, Don tells him what day it is. And Raph makes the decision that will change his life forever.

***

Lee wakes up and stretches her arms out in front of her. Another pair of arms reach around her on either side and take her hands in theirs. They wrap both pairs of arms around her. She leans against him and looks up. "Hello."

"Hey. Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Best in a long time."

"Good. Cause I wanna show ya somethin'. C'mon." He pulls her to her feet.

He leads her out the door and into the sewers. He puts his arm around her as they walk. They don't talk. They just revel in each other's company.

They climb up into the streets and go up to their roof. The sun is just beginning to set as they take their usual spots on the edge of the roof.

Lee sits next to Raph and leans against him as his arm goes around her waist. "It's so beautiful." The sun is light red, turning the sky slightly pink.

"Keep watching." He smiles down at her when she looks at him confused, taking into account the way her eyes glint red from the sun.

The sky goes from pink, to purple, then to dark purple. Then a light streaks across the sky. Then another. And another. Soon the whole sky is filled with lights streaking through the stars. Lee doesn't take her eyes off of the sky. "It's beautiful," she breathes in awe.

"Yeah. Just like you."

She hugs him and his arm tightens around her. "How did you know about this?"

He laughs. "Who else? Don."

She looks up at him. "I love it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Ch. 11**

He smiles down at her as stars rain down from they sky. "Your eyes match perfectly. So sparkling blue." He stands up pulling her with him.

"What're we doing?"

He looks down at her. "I know I'm not human, but I wanna do this right."

Lee tilts her head confused.

"Before anything else happens…"

_Is he doing what I think he's doing?_

"Lee. I know I left you just a few days ago, but I promise never to do it again. I promise to stay with you. I will do whatever it takes to stay with you. Forever." He takes her hand in his. He puts something in it and closes it. "Lee… will you marry me?"

Lee can't breathe. _Is this really happening? _She opens her hand and gasps. A ring, shining with the light of the stars and just as beautiful as them, sparkles in her hand. She turns it in her hand. It's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. She looks to Raph. "Yes."

She jumps into his arms and he swings her around. "Yes, yes, yes."

He stops swinging her and kisses her. He never wants to let her go. She was his now. Forever his. They stand under the starts as they rain down through the sky, holding each other. Raph pulls away first.

"Raph!" Lee wines.

He laughs. "Hold on." He takes the ring and starts to put it on her finger.

Lee stops him. "Wait." She takes of her necklace. "Put it on here. It will be safer on here than it would on my hand. You never know when I might lose it," she jokes somewhat seriously.

He smiles at her and puts the ring on the chain when she opens it for him. She closes it. He takes it and puts it around her neck. She looks up at him. "I am forever yours." She melts into another kiss. This one _she_ decides when to pull away.

***

He wakes up with her in his arms. He watches her sleep, loving the sight of her, so peaceful in his arms. It's been the same for the past few months, but he still can't believe that today she's really his. _You are so beautiful._

He remembers the wedding yesterday, as he watches her sleep. He skips the details and goes straight to remembering Lee. _She was so… beautiful doesn't even describe her. She was… gorgeous. She was an angel._

Yeah, the wedding was beautiful, but she surpassed it all. He smiles down at her as he remembers her, walking towards him in complete calm. He loved that she didn't look nervous at all. It relaxed him.

He wasn't nervous. He knew she loved him. He was nervous before, that she wouldn't know if _he_ really loved _her_. All of those thoughts were swept away when he saw her coming toward him completely at ease.

She had smiled at him with those sparkling blue eyes, and he couldn't look away. He knew he had locked her with _his_ eyes, but he didn't care. He knew she loved it. He watched her the entire time, making sure she was breathing. Sometimes he wasn't sure if she was breathing at all.

They had said the 'I do's' and had kissed. He wants to kiss her right now, but holds himself back so as not to wake her. He settles with remembering the kiss yesterday. He remembers how she had felt like she had never wanted to let go.

He growls remembering her pulling away after hearing Mikey's grossed out sound. Mikey's sound had brought them both back to earth. He had laughed along with her, but he wanted the kiss to go on forever.

He lays his head back down as she stirs in his arms. He doesn't want to let her go yet. He watches as she looks at her ring. He closes his eyes when she looks up at him. He hears her sigh and laugh and figures she must be remembering yesterday too.

When she looks at the clock, he figures it's okay to wake up. He looks down at her with adoring eyes. "Good mornin' love."

***

She wakes up in his arms. She lays there, loving the feeling of his arms around her. It's been the same for the past few months, but she still can't believe that today he's really hers. It's their first day as a married couple. She looks at the ring on her finger. _It's so beautiful._ She looks at Raph. _I am forever yours._

The wedding was beautiful. They had it at April's farmhouse. It was just the seven of them. April had everything covered. It was all beautiful. Lee smiles to herself remembering Raph's face when he saw her. _You would'a thought he was looking at an angel._

She had walked down to him in complete ease. She wasn't nervous. She knew he loved her. There was nothing to be nervous about. She saw no nervousness in his eyes either. _His eyes. I love his eyes._

He had locked her with his intent gaze the entire time. She could hardly breathe. She had to force herself to stay standing. His eyes made her week-kneed. They had said the 'I do's' and had kissed. She sighs remembering the kiss, then had to stifle a laugh to try and not wake up Raph.

They only had stopped kissing because of a disgusted sound from Mikey. They had turned to him and laughed. Raph had then swept her off her feet and carried her to the house. She had went up and changed, then went down to eat with all of them.

Lee looks at the clock. _They probably left an hour or two ago._ Everyone had stayed the night, but planned on leaving this morning. Lee and Raph are staying at the farmhouse for about a week to relax and be left alone. _I guess you could call it our honeymoon. This place is so peaceful and beautiful._

Lee is turning the ring in her hand when she hears a voice.

"Good mornin' love."

She looks up at him smiling. "Good morning."

He sits up and pulls her into his lap. "I'm sorry if this sounds possessive, but guess what," he breathes into her neck.

"What?"

"You are finally _mine_." He growls the last word.

Lee laughs and kisses him. "That is _not_ possessive. It's _true_ and I _love_ it."

He grins and kisses her. "Let's go outside."

"I need to get a shower."

"Get one later. You're always beautiful to me." He picks her up.

"Can you ever let me walk?"

"No."

"I thought not."

He grins. "As I said." He stretches out the next word. "_Mine_."

Lee shivers. "I _love_ that.

"

He kisses her neck. "You'll get used to it," he says, breathing it against her neck.

Lee shivers again. "Never."

"I'm glad to hear that." He kisses her again before he starts running. They were outside now. Lee grabs onto him as he runs through the trees around the house.

"Raph! Where're we goin'?"

"Wait 'n' see."

Lee clings to him for dear life. He's never run this fast before. She can only hold on until he stops. He sets her down and she turns around. She takes in a sharp breath.

"Yeah," he says watching her reaction.

He has brought her to a golden meadow. It's beautiful, the sun shining on the yellow grass making the entire meadow sparkle and glow gold. There is a pond, with a small island in the middle. There are two trees with a hammock in them, the tree shading them perfectly.

"Only I know about this place. I put that hammock up. He grabs her waist and tows her toward the pond. She resists.

"No! It's probably freezing! The sun just came up!"

He laughs. As fast as he can, he grabs her, throws her over his shoulder, and runs toward the pond.

"Raph!"

He jumps in, throwing her ahead of him so the impact doesn't hit her too hard against him. He comes up looking for her. When she doesn't appear, he starts to get nervous. "Lee?" He spins around. "Lee!" He wait's a few seconds to be sure. He's about to go under when he feels arms around his neck. He breathes a sigh of relief.

He turns to her and glares at her. "Don't ya ever scare me like that again!" He grabs her shoulders. "Yer gonna end up givin' me a heart attack!"

"I… I'm sorry. I… I thought my necklace fell off. I couldn't feel it. I'm sorry." Lee is taken back at his reaction.

He pulls her into a hug. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I was just worried. I know you can do well on land, but I don't know about water." He tucks her head under his chin as his arms tighten in a hug.

"I can handle water." She leans back and takes is face in her hands. "You don't always have to worry about me you know."

"I know. I just can't help it."

Lee smiles up at him. "I know."

They look at each other for a second, before Raph pulls her into a kiss. They swim to the island and sit in the hammock, reveling in the fact that they were finally together.


	12. Song lyrics

**Yeah. i started the first chapter when I was listening to my ipod. this song came on and it sounded perfect. i tried to incorporate it into the story. i think it worked okay. but yeah. An old 80's band song. Honestly by Stryper.**

**Honestly**

Honestly, I believe in you  
Do you trust in me  
Patiently, I will stand by you  
I will stand beside you faithfully

(bridge)  
And through the years  
I will be a friend  
For always and forever

(Chorus)  
Call on me and I'll be there for you  
I'm a friend who always will be true  
And I love you can't you see  
That I can say I love you honestly

(Solo)

(Chorus 2)  
Call on me and I'll be there for you  
I'm a friend who always will be true  
And I love you can't you see  
That I love you honestly  
I will never betray your trust in me  
And I love you can't you see  
That I can say I love you honestly


End file.
